The present invention relates to improved chewing gum products. More particularly, the present invention relates to improving chewing gum products by the use of natural carbohydrate gum hydrolyzates in a coating applied to the gum products.
Chewing gums are frequently enclosed with hard or soft coatings. Coatings provide an opportunity for the manufacturer to vary product characteristics such as taste, appearance and nutritional value. In recent years, efforts have been devoted to producing sugarless hard coatings for chewing gum. In today's health conscious society, gums containing sugarless sweeteners are popular confectionery items. In response to this consumer demand, the industry has investigated sugarless coatings containing compounds such as xylitol, sorbitol, mannitol, hydrogenated isomaltulose and hydrogenated starch hydrolyzates. These sugarless compounds contain sweetening characteristics but are devoid of commonly known sugars such as sucrose, dextrose, fructose, glucose and equivalent products.
Hard coatings containing sorbitol are common in the art. Sorbitol is generally acceptable because of its availability and the low cost. Sugarless gums coated with sorbitol, however, suffer from deficiencies. For example, sorbitol coating solutions are difficult to employ in the coating process. In addition, sorbitol coated products are usually rough, contain colored spots or blotches, and are waxy. Furthermore, because of its hygroscopicity, sorbitol dries and crystallizes slowly. Thus, sorbitol coated products are often rejected by consumers because of their rough and mottled appearance and lack of crunchiness as compared to sugar coatings.
Accordingly, a need currently exists in the confectionery market place for a gum with a hard coating which possesses the appealable characteristics of a sugar coating. To satisfy consumers, the coating would ideally be identical in appearance, taste, and mouth feel to a sugar coating. To satisfy the manufacturers, the coating would be high in stability, easy to apply and economical.
The non-sugar polyols such as sorbitol, mannitol, xylitol and hydrogenated isomaltulose have the advantage of not contributing to dental caries of consumers, as well as being able to be consumed by diabetics. However, all polyols have the disadvantage of causing gastrointestinal disturbances if consumed in too great of a quantity. Therefore it would be a great advantage to be able to use a carbohydrate or carbohydrate-like coating ingredient for a coated chewing gum product that would not contribute to dental caries nor cause gastrointestinal disturbances.
One such coating ingredient comprises guar gum hydrolyzate. This coating ingredient or bulk sweetener is not approved for use in human food products or in chewing gum in the U.S. However, a GRAS affirmation petition for guar gum hydrolyzate as a human food ingredient is currently being prepared. The bulk sweetener is approved for use in Japan and is being used in a variety of foods. Although a carbohydrate, guar gum hydrolyzate does not contribute to dental caries, does not cause as significant gastrointestinal disturbances as polyols and does not significantly contribute to calories. Thus, this ingredient's use in chewing gum could be a definite improvement.
Guar gum, which is found in the seeds of two leguminous plants, has found extensive uses as a food additive. U.S. Pat. No. 3,843,818 discloses low calorie pastas made with guar gum. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,996,389, guar gum has been disclosed as a stabilizer for ice cream, ice milk and sherbet. Culinary mixes containing guar gum are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,161,524. A process for producing low odor, low taste guar gums useful in foods is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,455,899. Use of guar gum in liquid chewing gum and chewing gum with the texture of rice cake is disclosed in Japanese Patents Publications Nos. 85-224449 and 87-146562. Other patents which disclose the use of guar gum are PCT Publication No. WO 90/14017 and EPO Patent Publication No. 0 324 720. An enzyme treated guar gum is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,332,894.
Guar gum is a high molecular weight polysaccharide which, when dissolved in water, forms very high viscosity solutions or gels at low concentrations. Due to the molecular weight and resulting high viscosity aqueous solutions, guar gum has found only limited utility as a bulking agent for food.
In order to make guar gum more suitable for foods, it needs to be hydrolyzed to obtain a guar gum hydrolyzate. Guar gum hydrolyzate and its use in foods is disclosed in EPO Patent Publications No. 0 449 594 and 0 457 098, and PCT Patent Publication No. WO 93/15116. The use of guar gum hydrolyzate in chewing gum is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 1993-115247.
An enzymatically hydrolyzed guar gum was described at a seminar given by IBC USA Conferences Inc. (International Business Communications) in Atlanta, Ga. on Mar. 13-14, 1991. Information on guar gum hydrolyzate is disclosed in a manual from the seminar and is available from IBC USA Conferences, Inc., 8 Pleasant Street, Bldg. D, South Natick, Mass.
The enzymatically hydrolyzed guar gum is produced by Taiyo Kagaku Co., Ltd. and is being marketed in the U.S. by Sandoz Nutrition Corp. of Minneapolis, Minn. under the trade name Sunfiber or Benefiber.
Guar gum is in a family of materials called galactomannans. These materials are made up of mannose and galactose units. The main chain consists of (1.fwdarw.4)--linked .beta.-D-mannose residues and the side chains of (1.fwdarw.6)--linked .alpha.-D galactose. Locust bean gum is another galactomannan.
Galactomannans themselves are part of a larger group of natural gums. One specific natural gum that is not a galactomannan is karaya gum. PCT Publication No. WO 93/15116 discloses a process for hydrolyzing guar gum, locust bean gum and karaya gum, which are characterized as "natural carbohydrate" gums. The hydrolyzates disclosed in the PCT Publication may be useful in a manner similar to Sunfiber, which is a guar gum hydrolyzate.
In addition to the concerns about the bulking agent in the coating, pan coating of pellet gum, whether it be sugar or sugarless, requires the use of coating additives as modifiers that act to improve the quality of the pan coating. For sugar gum, these coating additives are typically maltodextrins, starches, modified starches and gum arabic. These materials bind the coating to the core, as well as act like a film former to protect the core from absorbing moisture from the coating. They also help protect the core and coating from outside humidity conditions. These coating additives are especially needed for a polyol coating such as xylitol. U.S. Pat. No. 4,127,677 discloses a gum coating of xylitol with gum arabic as a binder. U.S. Pat. No. 4,828,845 discloses xylitol coating using a film forming agent, binder and plasticizer.
The prior art has indicated that gum arabic is needed when coating with xylitol. Gum arabic has unique features as a film former and as a binder. Materials like maltodextrins or modified starch have similar properties, but because they are glucose polymers, are not suitable for sugarfree gum products. On the other hand, gum arabic, which is considered sugarfree, has constantly varied in price, quality and availability in the past years.